Cherry

I finally had the chance to see Cherry last night and, as a huge Tom Holland fan, I was really looking forward to it.  Unfortunately, it is an absolute mess.  It is based on the semi-autobiographical novel of the same name by Nico Walker which details his alienation from society and ultimate redemption.  The narrative is told by Cherry (Holland), a stand-in for Walker, through a series of chapters and an epilogue (each with a red saturated title card) which roughly correspond to his time as a college student who works menial jobs and then meets and eventually marries Emily (Ciara Bravo), his time in basic training after a temporary breakup with Emily prompts him to enlist in the army, his time in Iraq where he has several horrifying experiences as a medic, his time back home immediately after his deployment where he suffers from PTSD and becomes addicted to OxyContin, his time as a bank robber as he attempts to fund his and Emily's heroin addiction, and his time in prison where he detoxes and recovers.  The story is incredibly compelling with a riveting performance from Holland but, stylistically, the movie is all over the place without any sort of cohesion to hold the narrative together (each chapter could have belonged to a different movie).  Cherry's expletive-laden stream-of-consciousness narration, which sometimes breaks the fourth wall, comes and goes without any rhyme or reason.  There are many jarring tonal shifts created by some truly bizarre music choices, such as using Puccini as Cherry is arrested and "Disco Inferno" as he comes home from Iraq, and some ineffective attempts at humor, such as using "Shitty Bank" instead of "Citibank."  The camera work is very inconsistent because the Russo Brothers use just about every technique taught in film school to prove that they are serious directors.  Everything is overdone and used for effect rather than to serve the narrative.  Even the color palette shifts from scene to scene with a gritty sepia tone one moment and then garish primary color filters in the next.  Finally, I'm not sure that this movie even has a point.  Is it supposed to be a criticism of an economic system that gives young people so few choices?  Is it an indictment of war and the way in which returning veterans are treated?  Is it a call to action over the opioid epidemic in this country?  Or is it an attack on society as a whole?  My main takeaway is that prison seems to be the only option for some people to get the treatment and vocational training they need to become successful and even this part of the story, the emotional payout for sticking it out with Cherry, is told in a matter of minutes with a montage of prison life and a cloying score.  It is a very unsatisfying resolution.  I really like Tom Holland (I think he has the potential to be great but he definitely needs to pick better material) and I wanted to like this movie but it is such a mess that I can't recommend it.

Six Minutes to Midnight

Last night I saw Six Minutes to Midnight and, even though I am a huge fan of movies featuring World War II intrigue, I found this particular movie to be quite underwhelming.  England is on the brink of war with Germany but Miss Rocholl (Judi Dench) continues as headmistress of the Augusta-Victoria College for Girls, a finishing school for the wealthy daughters of Germany's most influential and powerful families including the Nazi High Command, located in the village of Bexhill-on-Sea.  She sees the school as a way to strengthen the cultural bond between England and Germany but one of the teachers, Ilse Keller (Carla Juri), has more ominous intentions and has attracted the attention of the British secret service.  An agent named Thomas Miller (Eddie Izzard) masquerades as a teacher, replacing another agent who has disappeared, in order to uncover her secrets but he is thwarted by a Hitchcockian plot twist that is more ridiculous than compelling.  The story of the school, which actually existed on the coast of England before the war, is absolutely fascinating (I wanted to know more about the girls and their motivations) but the fictionalized espionage narrative is very thin and doesn't always make sense.  There are far more questions than answers.  Dench gives an affecting performance as a woman devoted to her students but I wish that her character had been explored more fully.  Izzard seems incredibly miscast as a spy (the many scenes of Miller running from his pursuers are not only awkward but highly improbable).  The same could be said of Juri because her portrayal of a German spy is also very bland, consisting primarily of shouting commands in a monotone voice.  James D'Arcy is almost a caricature of a sinister double agent but Jim Broadbent is as genial as ever in a small but pivotal role.  The cinematography features stunning shots of the coastal location and the production design is moody and atmospheric in its depiction of the period but, unfortunately, this movie is more style than substance.  It is a mediocre entry in the spy genre and I would recommend waiting for its inevitable appearance on a streaming platform.

Nobody

Last night I went to see the movie Nobody and, because there was a large and rowdy crowd (by Covid-19 standards), it was an absolute blast!  Hutch Mansell (Bob Odenkirk) is a mild-mannered accountant for his father-in-law's manufacturing business and lives in the suburbs with his wife (Connie Nielsen), son (Gage Munroe), and daughter (Paisley Cadorath).  Life has become monotonous but one night he and his family are the victims of an armed home invasion during which his passive behavior allows the burglars to get away subjecting him to the derision of his son, neighbor, brother-in-law, father-in-law, and the police.  This awakens a long dormant rage in Hutch so, when a group of thugs begins harassing him and the other passengers on a bus, he beats them savagely.  One of his victims is the younger brother of a Russian mob enforcer (Aleksei Serebryakov) who vows revenge.  When a group of Russian gangsters comes after him, it becomes apparent that Hutch is not who he appears to be.  This is an adrenaline rush from beginning to end with some of the best fight choreography I've seen, particularly a sequence where Hutch fights off a group of gangsters in his house using ordinary objects and an extended sequence in his booby-trapped factory.  People in my audience were clapping and cheering throughout!  Odenkirk reportedly trained for two years in order to perform all of his own stunts and he gives a kick-ass performance that is also highly amusing (I laughed out loud several times at his witty one-liners).  Christopher Lloyd steals every scene he is in as Hutch's father, who is also not who he appears to be.  The needle drops in this movie are fantastic!  I especially liked "I've Gotta Be Me," "My Way," "You'll Never Walk Alone," and "Let The Good Times Roll" because the contexts in which they are used are hilarious.  This is the most fun I've had watching a movie in a long time and I highly recommend it to fans of the genre.  See it with the biggest (socially distanced) crowd you can!

Marc Albrecht Conducts Mahler & R. Strauss

I was so happy to be back at Abravanel Hall for a Utah Symphony concert last night!  Before Covid-19, I spent most Friday nights at Abravanel Hall listening to the Utah Symphony and I really missed that during lockdown.  After finally being able to attend several concerts last fall, it was a bit of a blow when all Salt Lake County performing arts venues were closed again last December.  But now it looks like there might be a light at the end of the tunnel because these venues are open once again and several concerts were announced to finish out the Utah Symphony 2020-2021 season (I bought tickets to all of them).  Last night's concert, featuring guest conductor Marc Albrecht, was absolutely wonderful!  I was already feeling emotional just listening to the orchestra warm up so their performance of the Adagietto from Symphony No. 5 by Gustav Mahler just about did me in!  This piece is incredibly beautiful and otherworldly but it also quite mournful (it was performed at the funeral of Bobby Kennedy in 1968) so, of course, I loved it.  I especially enjoyed the theme played by the harp.  The concert concluded with the Suite from Der Burger als Edelmann (Le bourgeois gentilhomme) by Richard Strauss which is so charming.  I read the satirical play about a social climber by Moliere (in French!) when I was in high school so it was a lot of fun for me to imagine what was happening as I listened to the music.  I particularly liked "The Fencing Master" because it is very lively and energetic (with a great trumpet solo) as our protagonist tries to learn fencing from a master who takes advantage of his ignorance and "The Dinner" which is quite stately and dramatic with exaggerated pomp as our protagonist tries to impress his aristocratic guests (I loved the timpani).  I loved all of the music featured last night but I think what I enjoyed the most was the experience of being in an audience at a live performance because that, more than anything else, is a sign that things might be returning to some semblance of normalcy.  I am so ready for that!  I believe there are a limited number of tickets available (go here) for tonight's concert featuring the same program and I highly recommend getting one of them, especially if you have missed live performances as much as I have!

Note:  The 2021-2022 season was announced this week and I am so excited!  I have already subscribed to the Films in Concert Series (featuring The Return of the Jedi, Back to the Future, Home Alone, and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince) and I'm trying to decide on the concerts I want to include in my Design-A-Series subscription (Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini and Piano Concerto No. 2 are already on the list).  Go here for more information.

Zack Snyder's Justice League

It has been a really long time since I saw the theatrical release of Justice League and, while I don't remember everything about it, I do remember that I enjoyed it a lot more than other die-hard DCEU fans.  I liked the character arcs of both Batman and Wonder Woman as they grapple with their leadership roles within the group dynamic and I liked the fact that it takes all of the heroes, who mostly think of themselves as loners and misfits, working together to defeat the villain.  I wasn't one of the fans who clamored for the so-called "Snyder Cut" of this movie but, now that I have watched it, I am so glad that it exists because it is far superior to the theatrical release!  The core structure of the story remains the same.  Bruce Wayne/ Batman (Ben Affleck) joins with Diana Prince/ Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) in recruiting other metahumans, Arthur Curry/ Aquaman (Jason Momoa), Barry Allen/ The Flash (Ezra Miller), and Victor Stone/ Cyborg (Ray Fisher), to fight against the threat of Steppenwolf (Ciaran Hinds), a god who is trying to unite three Mother Boxes to enslave the world.  When one attempt to stop Steppenwolf fails, they decide to use one of the Mother Boxes to resurrect Clark Kent/ Superman (Henry Cavill) which forces an epic showdown.  Snyder's version improves the story by providing some much needed mythology and worldbuilding with the introduction of the character Darkseid (Ray Porter) and a more detailed explanation of how the Mother Boxes came to be on Earth in the possession of Humans, Amazons, and Atlanteans (in some thrilling battle sequences).  Steppenwolf's motivation for unifying the Mother Boxes is explored more fully within the context of his relationship to Darkseid.  The inclusion of Cyborg's backstory is also a huge improvement to the narrative because his character arc, particularly his journey to self-acceptance, serves as a metaphor for the entire Justice League and I loved his role in defeating the Unity.  I have always really appreciated the darker and grittier tone of the DCEU and the portrayal of Superman in Snyder's version is more in keeping with his character arc from Man of Steel and Batman v Superman (I especially liked the black suit).  The Flash, who is a little bit less goofy and is given a more prominent (and timeline changing) role in the final battle, also has a more authentic portrayal.  I liked the look and feel of the final battle in Snyder's version much more without the color saturation, stylized action sequences, and silly banter of the original and I liked the outcome much more (this ending teases a sequel with Darkseid and an epilogue further teases a "Knightmare" scenario with Deathstroke, Mera, the Flash, Cyborg, Batman, and the Joker as well as the introduction of the Martian Manhunter which may or may not happen).  This is the version of Justice League I didn't know I needed!  I loved it and I'm glad the fans were successful in lobbying for its release!

The Courier

I saw The Courier at the Sundance Film Festival last year (although when I saw it the name was Ironbark in reference to the code name used by the Soviet agent) and I really enjoyed this taut and suspenseful spy thriller so I decided to see it again last night.  Tensions are escalating between the United States and the Soviet Union over the build up of nuclear weapons.  Oleg Penkovsky (Merab Ninidze), a high-ranking science officer in the Soviet government, believes that Khrushchev is erratic and looking for any excuse to go to war with the U.S. so he goes to great lengths to contact the West about providing secret intelligence.  Because Penkovsky is so prominent, Emily Donovan (Rachel Brosnahan) of the CIA and Dickie Franks (Angus Wright) of MI-6 don't want to compromise him by using known agents.  They recruit Greville Wynne (Benedict Cumberbatch), an unassuming middle-aged businessman with accounts in Eastern Europe, to make contact with him.  After meeting with Wynne, Penkovsky is impressed with his grace under pressure and insists that the CIA continue to use him as a courier even though he is an amateur.  Wynne is initially reluctant because it will be dangerous and, more importantly, his behavior will make his wife Sheila (Jessie Buckley) suspicious because of a previous infidelity but, after a crash course in spy craft, he eventually smuggles in thousands of pieces of intel and develops a close friendship with Penkovsky.  The stakes are raised significantly when Khrushchev places missiles in Cuba and when Penkovsky comes under suspicion.  I really love spy movies and this is a good one because it focuses on the humanity of both characters and their desire to make the world a better place by their actions.  It is moody and atmospheric with lots of Cold War intrigue that had me on the edge of my seat (even upon a second viewing).  Cumberbatch gives a riveting performance (one of his best) that is sometimes amusing, especially when he attempts to get in shape, and sometimes quite affecting, especially in a late scene with Ninidze.  The fact that this is based on a true story makes it even more compelling and I highly recommend it, especially to fans of the genre.

Sound of Metal

Because I watched Sound of Metal last night, I have now seen all of the Academy Award nominees for Best Picture (click on the titles for my commentaries on The Father, Judas and the Black Messiah, Mank, Minari, Nomadland, Promising Young Woman, and The Trial of the Chicago 7).  I'm not sure why I waited so long to see Sound of Metal but I found it to be incredibly moving.  Ruben (Riz Ahmed) is a drummer for a heavy metal duo with his girlfriend Lou (Olivia Cooke).  One night during a performance, he realizes that he is having trouble hearing and this is soon confirmed by a specialist who tells him that it is likely to get worse if he doesn't limit his exposure to loud noise.  Ruben is in denial about the diagnosis, thinking that expensive cochlear implants will fix the problem, and continues to play until it becomes impossible.  Lou is worried that this setback will cause Ruben to relapse so she seeks out a program for recovering addicts who are deaf run by a man named Joe (Paul Raci) who lost his hearing in Vietnam.  Lou realizes that Ruben won't commit to the program as long as she is in his life so she decides to leave him.  Joe is able to help him but Ruben continues to struggle because he sees his deafness as something he needs to fix rather than something he needs to adapt to and eventually sells everything he owns, including his drums, to get the implants.  While the implants allow Ruben to hear they also cause a strange distortion which might derail his plans to resume the life he once had.  What really resonated with me about this powerful character study is Ruben's attempt to downplay the seriousness of his situation and his refusal to accept a reality that conflicts with the identity he has created for himself because I think that is a very human reaction to adversity. Ahmed gives a captivating performance that is also understated and restrained.  There is nothing showy about it but you know everything that Ruben is feeling simply by the look in his eyes.  The closeup on his face when he realizes that he can never go back to the life he once had with Lou is absolutely devastating.  Raci is also incredibly affecting as someone who tries to help Ruben envision another life for himself.  The innovative sound design is brilliant because the harsh feedback and muffled sounds really allow the audience to experience everything that Ruben is hearing (I especially enjoyed how the sound of vibration is portrayed because that is such a turning point for Ruben) and the use of silence is also very powerful, particularly in the final scene.  I usually get really distracted when I watch movies at home (it is currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video) but this held my attention from beginning to end and I highly recommend it!

Note:  Now that I have seen all of the nominees, my pick for Best Picture is Minari!  Have you seen any of the nominees?  Do you have a favorite to win?

The Trial of the Chicago 7

The Academy Award nominations were announced yesterday and, like last year, there are only two that I haven’t seen yet (you can read my commentaries for The Father, Judas and the Black Messiah, Mank, Minari, Nomadland, and Promising Young Woman by clicking on the titles).  Luckily both movies that I haven't seen are available on streaming platforms that I subscribe to.  Since I always like to see all of the nominees before the big ceremony, I watched The Trial of the Chicago 7, which is streaming on Netflix, last night (look for my review of Sound of Metal, streaming on Amazon Prime Video, tomorrow).  I didn't see this movie when it had a limited release in theaters last year because I am not a big Aaron Sorkin fan.  I know this is an unpopular opinion but I find his movies to be way too dialogue-heavy and that is actually my biggest complaint about this particular movie despite having an all-star cast, including a few stellar performances, and a compelling story that is incredibly relevant for today.  The year 1968 (the year I was born) is a time of violence and tremendous social unrest and the movie begins with several groups planning to protest the Vietnam War at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.  The leaders of these groups, including Tom Hayden (Eddie Redmayne) and Rennie Davis (Alex Sharp) of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), Abbie Hoffman (Sacha Baron Cohen) and Jerry Rubin (Jeremy Strong) of the Youth International Party (Yippies), David Dellinger (John Carroll Lynch) of the National Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam (MOBE), and Bobby Seale (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) of the Black Panther Party, as well as Lee Weiner (Noah Robbins) and John Froines (Daniel Flaherty), are arrested for trespassing and destruction of property after a riot breaks out during their demonstration.  Five months later, the new Attorney General, John N. Mitchell (John Doman), wants to make an example of the so-called Chicago Seven and directs the federal prosecutor, Richard Schultz (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), to charge them with the federal crime of inciting a riot across state lines.  The counsel for the defense, William Kunstler (Mark Rylance) of the ACLU, argues that it was the police who started the riot, even calling the former AG Ramsey Clark (Michael Keaton) to testify about the lack of evidence, but Judge Julius Hoffman (Frank Langella) shows an obvious prejudice for the prosecution, including jury tampering, dismissing eyewitness testimony, and mistreating Seale.  After spending most of the more than two hour runtime on the trial, the movie ends with a dramatic moment before the verdict is even read and then provides information about it, the sentencing, and the subsequent appeal almost as an afterthought in a series of titles during the epilogue.  It was very anticlimactic.  I can see why this movie has generated so much buzz because it definitely taps into the zeitgeist of our time by depicting an assault on free speech and I concede that it does have a powerful message.  I was also impressed by the performances, particularly Redmayne who displays a volatility I don't think I've seen from him before, Baron Cohen who steals every scene he is in, and Rylance who vividly portrays Kunstler's escalating rage at the injustice shown by the court.  However, I just couldn't get past the dialogue because it sounds so manufactured with monologue after monologue about idealism.  The characters may be saying the perfect words at the perfect time but it is not very organic, especially during a time period as emotionally charged as the 1960s, and I never really felt any kind of connection to them as people.  Does anyone really talk like a character in an Aaron Sorkin movie?  This is one of those movies that most people will probably end up liking more than I do!

The Lost Apothecary

My Book of the Month selection for March was The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner (the other options were The Final Revival of Opal & Nev by Dawnie Walton, What's Mine and Yours by Naima Coster, Too Good to be True by Carola Lovering, and In a Book Club Far Away by Tif Marcelo). This novel combines elements of historical fiction, mystery, and fantasy and I absolutely loved it. In the present day, Caroline Parcewell is in London by herself, on what should have been a ten year anniversary trip, after finding out that her husband has been unfaithful. Feeling lonely and at loose ends, she spontaneously joins a tour group of mudlarkers on the banks of the Thames River in search of relics from the past brought in by the tide. She finds an old vial with a marking of a bear on it and this reawakens a long dormant passion for historical research as she unravels the mystery of its origin. In 1791, Nella Clavinger is the proprietor of an apothecary who, motivated by her own tragedy, secretly dispenses poison to desperate women who have been wronged or betrayed by the men in their lives. She meets the twelve-year-old Eliza Fanning when the latter requests a poison on behalf her mistress for her to use on her husband. Their interactions inadvertently expose Nella's activities and put both of their lives in danger. The narrative alternates between the two timelines as Caroline uncovers events in the present as they happen to Nella in the past and I found this device to be very compelling. I was surprised by the fact that I enjoyed Caroline's story just as much as Nella's (even though I particularly loved all of the period details that transported me to 18th century London) because I am such a fan of historical fiction. Their experiences mirror each other in that they are both victims of duplicitous men and they struggle to take action according to the social norms and attitudes of the time but I loved that Caroline is inspired by the process of investigating Nella's life and that it informs the resolution to her situation. I was fascinated by the concoction of the poisons (the epilogue with recipes for the more innocuous potions is a lot of fun and I would actually like to try some) and I was very intrigued by the introduction of magic into the narrative.  I read this novel in just two sittings because I was so invested in both of the main characters and I highly recommend it, especially to fans of historical fiction or fantasy!

The Father

I had a suspicion that The Father would generate a lot of buzz at the Sundance Film Festival last year because it stars Anthony Hopkins and Olivia Colman who are both absolutely brilliant.  I was correct because tickets proved to be impossible to get!  I finally had a chance to see it now that it is in wide release and the hype is real.  Anthony (Hopkins) is in the late stages of dementia but he adamantly refuses to leave his flat and refuses to have a nurse care for him.  His daughter Anne (Colman) has been struggling to cope on her own but things become critical when her partner Paul (Rufus Sewell) wants them to move to Paris.  The narrative is told from Anthony's perspective so the audience is able to experience all of his confusion first-hand.  Just like Anthony, the audience is never entirely sure what is real as his perception of his environment and the people who come and go becomes jumbled.  The production design is incredibly clever because the differences between Anthony's flat and Anne's are very subtle and there were moments when I actually wondered where Anthony was (I am really looking forward to watching this again so I can pay more attention to the details).  The introduction of Olivia Williams and Mark Gatiss into the narrative also keeps things off-kilter and at one point I really did wonder which Olivia was actually playing Anne (this is a brilliant bit of casting because both actresses have similar features and it is completely plausible that someone suffering from dementia might mistake the two of them).  The script is really compelling because there are a few elements that keep recurring in various forms and in various timelines, such as Anthony's missing watch, the chicken that Anne is baking, and the conversation about Anne's move to Paris, which show the extent of his ongoing deterioration.  Hopkins gives a tour-de-force performance (one of the best in his long and storied career) in which he is simultaneously imperious, cruel, charming, and heartbreaking (sometimes in the same scene!).  Colman is also outstanding as a daughter who loves her father but is crumbling under the weight of the responsibility for caring for him.  There is one scene, in particular, where Anne is trying to paint an optimistic picture for a potential new caregiver (Imogen Poots) but her concern is betrayed by the welling of tears in her eyes.  It is so powerful!  This movie is devastating in its portrayal of dementia and I sometimes found it difficult to watch but I highly recommend it.

My Salinger Year

I read The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger when I was a junior in high school and it pretty much rocked my world (I really relate to themes of alienation in books and movies) so I was incredibly intrigued by the premise of My Salinger Year and went to see it last night.  It was not what I was expecting and I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would.  Joanna (Margaret Qualley) is an aspiring writer who decides to leave a graduate program at Berkeley to move to New York and live her dream.  She takes a temporary job as an assistant to a curmudgeonly literary agent (Sigourney Weaver) who represents the reclusive writer.  One of her duties is to respond to all of the fan mail written to Salinger with a standard form letter but she is moved by some of the letters and begins writing personal responses to them with varying degrees of success.  She also interacts with the author himself on the phone and, despite the fact that she is becoming more and more successful at the agency, he inspires her to leave to pursue her dream.  This outcome is a foregone conclusion and, even though the narrative takes its time to reach it, there is not a lot of dramatic tension.  The process by which Joanna finds her voice is very subtle and there are quite a few lesser subplots, such as a toxic relationship with another aspiring writer (Douglas Booth), a visit from a former boyfriend from Berkeley (Hamza Haq), and a best friend (Seana Kerslake) who gives up on her dream of being a writer to get married, that go nowhere and take away from the main conceit.  I also found the characterization of Salinger to be incredibly far-fetched because he is portrayed as a grandfatherly figure willing to give advice to a young writer rather than the idiosyncratic and enigmatic person he was.  I did, however, enjoy the production design because the literary world of New York in the 1990s is exactly how I pictured it with mahogany wood paneling, dusty bookshelves, portraits of authors hanging on the walls, and anachronistic equipment (I loved all of the typewriters).  Finally, both Qualley and Weaver give charismatic performances (even if their interactions are not as humorous as those of Andy and Miranda Priestley in The Devil Wears Prada) and I liked how the fans who write to Salinger are portrayed.  This movie, based on the memoir of the same name by Joanna Rakoff, is fine but I wish it had delved further into how she was inspired by Salinger.  It is really just a chronicle of a year in Joanna's life, which happens to include a few interactions with the author intermingled with other random events, that culminates in a decision to become a writer.  I was hoping for more.

Raya and the Last Dragon

Last night I saw Raya and the Last Dragon and I absolutely loved it!  In the mythical land of Kumandra there are evil spirits known as the Druun turning people into stone.  The dragons of Kumandra use all of their magic to create a gem before they are turned to stone and one dragon named Sisu (Awkwafina) is chosen to use it to defeat the Druun and revive everyone.  Many years later, the tribes of Kumandra are divided into lands known as Fang, Heart, Tail, Spine, and Talon over their jealousy to possess the gem which resides in Heart.  Raya (Kelly Marie Tran), a guardian of the gem, is betrayed when she befriends Namaari (Gemma Chan) of Fang who tries to steal it.  The resulting fight splits the gem into pieces, which are taken by each tribe, and reawakens the Druun who turn her father, Chief Benja (Daniel Dae Kim), to stone.  Six years later, Raya and her sidekick Tuk Tuk (Alan Tudyk) find Sisu and learn that all of the pieces of the gem might give Sisu the power to defeat the Druun once again.  Raya goes on a quest to retrieve the pieces and encounters Boun (Izaac Wang) from Tail, Noi (Thalia Tran) from Talon, Tong (Benedict Wong) from Spine, and her nemesis Namaari from Fang.  They must learn to trust each other to defeat the Druun and unite as Kumandra once again.  The animation is absolutely dazzling and I loved the distinct world-building for Fang, Heart, Tail, Spine, and Talon, especially the bustling street markets of Talon and the terraced rice paddies of Fang.  The character design of the dragons is so beautiful.  When I first saw the trailer I thought Sisu looked too cartoonish but, when all of the dragons take flight together, it is absolutely magical.  The theme of unity is brilliant and one that is needed right now because of all of the division in the world.  The stakes are surprisingly high for a Disney animated movie and there were actually three different times when I had tears in my eyes (I did laugh out loud many times, too).  Raya is an incredibly dynamic character because her motivation at the beginning of her journey is merely to revive her father but she ultimately applies his wisdom of trusting an enemy to bring about his dream of a unified Kumandra.  I love flawed characters who find redemption so Raya just might be my favorite Disney princess of all time!  Tran does such a good job in portraying Raya's strength and vulnerability and Awkwafina provides some welcome comic relief as the always optimistic Sisu.  I loved this movie so much and, whether you decide to see it in the theater (my screening was packed) or on Disney+, I highly recommend it!

Note:  I actually really liked the character of Rose in The Last Jedi and I was horrified by all of the abuse directed at Tran by fans who didn't.  I am so happy to see her receive some well-earned praise for this role!

Chaos Walking

As a huge fan of both Daisy Ridley and Tom Holland as well as the Chaos Walking trilogy by Patrick Ness (I think it is a brilliant examination of colonization, the treatment of indigenous peoples, resource allocation, the abuse of power, loss of innocence, and the futility of war), I have been looking forward to the movie adaptation of the first book, The Knife of Never Letting Go, for what seems like forever.  I was so excited to see a Thursday preview last night but I ended up being very disappointed.  I know that a movie adaptation cannot possibly include everything from the source material because of time constraints but it seems like the big ideas of the novel are excluded in favor of very generic action sequences.  Viola Eade (Ridley) is a member of a scouting expedition for a larger group of settlers from Earth on their way to a planet called the New World.  Her ship crashes on this planet and she is the only survivor.  She encounters Todd Hewitt (Holland) in a settlement of earlier colonizers called Prentisstown, where all of the women have mysteriously disappeared and the men have their thoughts on display in a phenomenon called the Noise. The Mayor, David Prentiss (Mads Mikkelsen), and Aaron (David Oyelowo), a mysterious preacher, view Viola and the new settlers on their way as a threat.  Todd wants to help her so his adoptive fathers Ben (Demian Bichir) and Cillian (Kurt Sutter) tell him about other settlements on New World and they go on the run so Viola can contact the mother ship.  However, Todd's Noise makes it difficult for them to hide leading to an epic confrontation and revelations about what happened to all of the women in Prentisstown.  Todd is very one-dimensional without any of the coming of age and loss of innocence character arcs from the book and his only motivation seems to be getting a kiss from Viola but Holland is appealing enough in the role.  Viola is a bit more interesting with a few throwaway lines about the indigenous species (there is a random scene involving the Spackle that makes absolutely no sense) and the abuse of power but she is mostly reactionary.  Ridley is also very appealing and she does what she can with the role but watching someone run from Point A to Point B gets boring after a while.  The Mayor's motivation is a bit unclear (although he has some great costumes) and there isn't any development of how he is able to rule over everyone or of his connection to Todd beyond a few throwaway lines.  The other characters don't have much to do and I was really disappointed with how Davy Jr. (Nick Jonas) and Hildy (Cynthia Erivo), in particular, are underutilized.  The action sequences are surprisingly bland but I did really like the visual representation of the Noise.  Finally, I really hated the conclusion (the biggest deviation from the book) because it is very rushed and certain events make the adaptation of the next two books impossible (which might be a good thing).  Fans of Holland and Ridley will probably really enjoy this but fans of the books will be disappointed.  Ugh!

My Zoe

Last night I saw the movie My Zoe and, while it is a fascinating and thought-provoking portrait of a mother willing to go to extraordinary lengths to keep from losing her child, I found it to be very anticlimactic.  It begins as a domestic drama as Isabelle (Julie Delpy) fights an acrimonious battle with her estranged husband James (Richard Armitage) for custody of their daughter Zoe (Sophia Ally).  Then it completely shifts gears and becomes a futuristic science fiction thriller as Isabelle requests an experimental procedure that is both illegal and possibly unethical after her daughter suffers a devastating brain injury.  This involves such a strange tonal shift that it almost seems like two different movies (the screen even fades to black in between the two).  I enjoyed the first act, particularly the passive aggressive bickering between Isabelle and James as they both try to prove that they are the better parent, because both characters feel very authentic in their love for their daughter and their situation is incredibly intense and compelling.  The final act is less compelling because it requires an almost comical suspension of disbelief despite the fact that the movie is set in the near future (with some really interesting tech gadgets).  Several new characters are introduced and their actions lack any sort of motivation.  Dr. Thomas Fischer (Daniel Bruhl), a fertility specialist to whom Isabelle turns in her desperation, adamantly refuses to help her because the experiment is morally wrong and almost certain to fail but then he inexplicably changes his mind and, of course, the experiment is a success.  His wife Laura (Gemma Arterton) is horrified that he has risked everything to help a woman he barely knows but even she eventually becomes sympathetic for no discernible reason.  In my opinion, the resolution is very disappointing because the timeline jumps several years into the future without an examination of the provocative questions that have have been posed about the outcome of the experiment.  Delpy gives a passionate performance as a mother on a relentless quest but it isn't enough to keep this movie from derailing in the end.